X-ray radiographing is a radiation radiographing method using the penetrative characteristic of X-rays, and image information of an internal structure of the target is provided based on the accumulated extent of attenuation in a process of penetrating through the target. An X-ray radiographing apparatus for this include: an X-ray generator radiating X-rays, an X-ray sensor disposed to face the X-ray generator with a target interposed therebetween and detecting X-rays that have passed the target, and an image-processing device implementing an X-ray radiograph using the detection result of the X-ray sensor. Meanwhile, recently, due to developments in semiconductor and data processing technologies, X-ray radiographing has been rapidly replaced with Digital Radiography (DR) using a digital detector, and radiographing methods have been improved in various ways.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional dental X-ray radiographing apparatus.
The conventional dental X-ray radiographing apparatus includes a base supported by the floor, a column vertically standing from the base, and a lifter 10 vertically moving along the column in accordance with a height of the target. The lifter 10 is connected to a cantilever 20 at one side thereof. The cantilever 20 is connected to a rotary arm 30 at a lower part thereof so that the rotary arm 30 may rotate. The rotary arm 30 includes a generator 31 disposed on one side thereof with a rotation axis interposed therebetween, and an X-ray sensor 32 disposed opposite the generator 31 and opposite to the rotation axis. An examinee's head that includes a dental arch 50 of the examinee is fixedly disposed around a rotation axis 25C, and a position thereof may be adjusted depending on the area requiring examination.
A rotation driver 25 is provided to connect the rotary arm 30 and the cantilever 20 by being disposed therebetween, and to rotate the rotary aim 30 about the rotation axis 25C using driving power. The rotation driver 25 rotates the rotary arm 30 to a desired angle when radiographing a panoramic radiograph of the dental arch 50 of the examinee or when radiographing various X-ray radiographs to obtain a CT image.
Panoramic X-ray radiographs that are provided by using such a dental X-ray radiographing apparatus are used as the most familiar standard image to dentists since the overall arrangement relationship of teeth and surrounding tissues may be easily grasped from the images. X-ray CT radiographs may display a 3D image of the examinee and accurately and clearly display tomographic radiographs according to a user's desired position and direction, and thus X-ray radiographs have con to be utilized in fields requiring high precision, such as an implant procedure. Recently, in the field of orthodontics and the like, the utilization of the X-ray 3D radiographs is increasing.
In order to reconfigure panoramic X-ray radiographs, X-ray tomographic radiographs, or X-ray 3D radiographs, a dental X-ray radiographing apparatus requires a large number of x-ray transmission radiographs taken at various angles of the examinee. Therefore, a rotation amount of the rotary arm 30 for rotating the generator 31 and the X-ray sensor 32 increases, and a speed of rotation is also increased for rapid radiographing. However, operations during sequential X-ray radiographing cause the examinee to feel uneasy. Thus, motion artifacts may be generated. In addition, since the operation range of a radiographing apparatus is wide and the apparatus is not clearly distinguished from the surroundings, it is difficult to utilize the space.